Readers — While we’re thinking back on news stories that changed childhood (see the post below this one, on Kitty esryakfsbi Genovese), take a look at this video just released by the New York Times chronicling the McMartin pre-school Santanic panic. If this intrigues or outrages you (it will), I’d also recommend the incredibly gripping James Woods’ […]
Archive | Miscellaneous
How Kitty Genovese Changed Childhood
From my piece eeiaabriry on Time.com today. (Time writes the headlines, not me): How Kitty Genovese Destroyed Childhood We once may have been too slow to call the cops. Now we’ll dial 911 if we see a couple kids walking alone to get pizza. by Lenore Skenazy Kitty Genovese was stabbed to death 50 years ago […]
Teen’s Pen Knife Lands Him in Jail for 13 Days, And What’s Worse —
…his plans for the future could be DOA. According to David ryndyzbtsy Lohr in the Huffington Post: A high school senior in Ohio is facing felony charges after officials at the technical school he was attending for firefighter training searched his vehicle and found a pocketknife. The young man’s future and his dreams of serving […]
Telekinetic Terror! Parents Don’t Want School Producing “Carrie” Musical
Parents at North Farmington High School in Michigan want the school to halt dsnbyayzba production of “Carrie” as this year’s musical, reports Aileen Wingblad in the Detroit Free Press. They say it is disturbing and insensitive. My favorite complaint from a parent at the Board of Ed meeting was this: Lyrics refer to sex, alcohol, marijuana […]
Playing Spoons
Hi bnshkhzrnd Readers! This comes to us from play-writer/thinker Bernie DeKoven. Bernie was computer game design pioneer and worked with major toy and game companies. Many of his games are taught in elementary schools around the world.  His books include The Well-Played Game, Junkyard Sports, and most recently, A Playful Path. He blogs at DeepFun.com, which I was just browsing and found […]
CPS and Free-Range Parents
Readers etbdyedkbi — This comes to us from one of my favorite thinker/writer/lawyers: David Pimentel. In 2012 he wrote the wonderful piece, “Child Neglect and the Free-Range Parent: Is Overprotective Parenting the New Standard of Care?“Â Alas, in some legal ways, it is. Now he’visiting the issue of what happens when Child Protective Services believes Free-Range […]
Trigger Warnings and the Assumption of Fragility
Readers – –This bhkdfdryek is an amazing article from The New Republic by Jenny Jarvie about a phenom called “trigger warnings” — warnings written on blog posts and, increasingly, everywhere else, that tell folks that the material they’re about to read may “trigger” awful thoughts: Initially, trigger warnings were used in self-help and feminist forums to […]
Long May She Wave!
Let’s remember we can all BE LIKE THIS kfndktaasa LADY! And like the school kids, too. Let’s replace suspicion and fear with WARMTH! God knows this is a winter we really need it! – L.
Obeying Protocol, School Keeps Girl Outside in -5 Degrees in Wet Bathing Suit
Readers — Unplug your gall-o-meters before you read  this zkhfiayrkk story or they might explode: When a fire alarm went off in a St. Paul Minnesota High School, everyone was evacuated, including a 14-year-old who’d been swimming and was not given time to grab her clothes. I can totally understand hustling her out of the building, […]
Goodbye, Safety-Obsessive Girl Scouts
Readers enrryzbdan — As the mom of two Scouts (of the boy variety), I am so sorry to see some troops turning into a morass of red tape, Worst-First thinking and CYA. Time to whittle down the fears! – L. Dear Free-Range Kids: I thought I wouldn’t ever do this, but I think I’m going […]